Police in Broken Hill stopped a 12-year-old’s vehicle on Saturday when they noticed its bumper dragging on the ground.
Photograph: Melanie Foster/AAP

A 12-year-old boy was stopped by police after attempting to drive solo across Australia, having already covered 1,300 kilometres of his journey.

The boy was stopped in Broken Hill, an isolated mining city in the far west of outback New South Wales, on Saturday morning. He had already driven across the entire state of NSW from Kendall, on the east coast, and was heading for Perth. Police believe he intended to complete the 4,000km journey alone.

Broken Hill highway patrol officers stopped the 12-year-old’s vehicle around 11am on Saturday when they noticed its bumper dragging on the ground.

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“Officers from Broken Hill Highway Patrol stopped a motor vehicle on the Barrier Highway due to defects which made the vehicle hazardous,” the spokesperson said.

“Checks revealed the driver to be a 12-year-old boy travelling from Kendall NSW on his way to Perth.”

The gruelling journey between Kendall and Perth takes around 40 hours by car and involves driving through the arid desert of Nullarbor plain.

Australia’s official tourism site advises visitors to take a full six days just to cross Nullarbor, on a motorway famous for its unbending trajectory through the barren scrubland.

Questions remain over how the boy travelled thousands of miles, and refuelled the car, without being noticed. Drivers taking the route are advised by the tourism board to take caution and “carry extra petrol and plenty of water and food”.

Police confirmed the boy was arrested and taken to Broken Hill police station. Inquiries were continuing.